Pandora's Box
History and Design Pandora's Box is a concealed super weapon created by an unknown race centuries before humanity first entered space. It is located somewhere within the Mars Asteroid Belt, concealed as one of the larger asteroids. The station was designed to obliterate all technology from the solar system by manufacturing a nearly infinite supply of nanites that, when activated, would seek out and destroy any and all technology it could find by breaking it down into fine particles from the atomic structure. The only thing immune to this process was the station itself. However the process didn't merely end with the obliteration of technology. With the solar system now defenseless, the station would fire it's beam cannon at any nearby inhabited planets. These beams were strong enough to shatter continents and a sustained bombardment would ignite the atmosphere, killing off anything on the planet. Discovery At some point during the Universal Century, the station was discovered by an unknown group who designed a program intended to activate the weapon should humanity fail to correct the mistakes made with the destruction of Laplace and the growing corruption of the Earth Federation. This program was later given to Astral Spirit, who were told it would either redeem or punish humanity. It was then installed into the RX-0-3 Ghost Gundam under the name, Spirit+. Governing Computer The activities of the station were controlled and monitored by a powerful Super Quantum Computer. This computer is in charge of defenses, manufacturing, and maintaining and updating the station when possible. The processing abilities of the computer is miles beyond anything on Earth, as it can control the nanites with instructions so precise that it allows the nanites to perfectly reconstruct matter from the atom up. Wormhole Drive As a last line of defense, the station was equipped with a Wormhole Drive. By artificially creating and sustaining a wormhole, the station can escape over vast distances in a relatively short amount of time. However doing so will deplete a large portion of power, requiring Pandora's Box to recharge. Tractor Beam In order to supply materials for construction the station utilized a tractor beam to draw in asteroids. The tractor beam guides and pulls anything caught into either a hanger or directly into the factory. Once there the nanites break down the asteroid into it's most basic elements and reconstructs it's entire atomic structure to create virtually any kind of material. When not used to gather resources, the tractor beam was used to alter the course of anything that presented a danger to the station, such as large asteroids. Mass Drive The Mass Drive is the reason the station could move and generate artificial gravity. By employing the tractor beam against the station's surface the mass driver can replicate the effect of gravity and propel itself using it's own mass. Due to the size of Pandora's Box this gives the station an impressive amount of speed. When near larger bodies, the mass drive could enhance the pull of gravity to create a slingshot effect. Defenses Pandora's Box was designed to utilize it's nanites to construct numerous defenses to prepare in case the station was discovered and attacked. The form of these defenses changed over time. 'Mobile Suits' When Zeon constructed the first mobile suit, the super computer of the station recognized the superiority of mobile suits over it's current defenses. It then reconfigured the defenses to include mobile suits. Each and every machine was constructed from the atomic structure up by nanites to ensure perfection. The design of the mobile suits also continously shifted, as mobile suit technology began to rapidly advance with the discovery of Newtypes. 'Anti Ship Defenses' Pandora's Box constructed numerous long range beam cannons to bombard enemy ships and carriers from a distance. Also the nanites constructed thousands of cloaked mines around the station. These were triggered by motion sensors. The mines also constantly recieved and transmited tactical information to allow the station to effectively coordinate it's defenses. 'Satellite Defenses' To prevent retaliation several Point Defense Satellites were constructed. These used high precision beams to neutralize beam fire and to intercept missiles in rapid succession. Each satellite constantly transmited tactical data to the station to allow precise coordination of defenses. For offense, the station constructed numerous bit and funnel type weapons. These weapons utilized their small size to easily flank enemies and tear them to shreds with high powered beam. 'Beam Defense' On top of it's already formidible defenses, Pandora's Box had one final line of defense against attack. The station could generate a massive energy shield that completely protected from all means of attack. However the shield came with a set back, while active nothing could go in or out of the shield, meaning that the station couldn't continue attacking without first disengaging the barrier. However the super computer easily got around this by using the shield to buy enough time to repair it's defenses and construct new means of retaliation based off of strategic information. Facilities As a massive space station and super weapon, Pandora's Box contained several facilities to suit it's needs. *'Super Quantum Computer Chamber:' The center of everything the station does. This is the location of the super computer. From here endless calculations and observations are computed to keep the station up to date and running smoothly. *'Factory:' A massive internal factory that uses nanites to create resources from the atomic structure. The factory produces everything the station needs, from raw materials to mobile suits. The factory is home to a large number of advanced worker drones under the control of the super computer. *'Power Plant:' A massive chamber that contains numerous nuclear reactors. Despite the multitude of reactors, the primary source of power for the station is drawn directly from subspace by powerful subspace capacitors, producing nearly unlimited power. This is the means the station has powered itself for centuries and the reason why the station can fire it's devestating beam cannon and maintain it's protective shield without draining it's power signifigantly. *'Mobile Suit Hangers:' Once mobile suits were incorporated in the defenses, the nanites carved out a large section of the station and converted it into numerous hangers. These contained hundreds of mobile suits all ready to launch at a moments notice.